3 Liter Water Challenge|3 Month Review Expectations vs. Reality

A few months ago after getting back from Ghana, I made it a point to keep up with drinking the same amount of water I did in the humidity of the summer. I drank 3 liters of water, sometimes more, with no problem. I went on amazon and purchased a pink 3 liter water jug and I was so excited to begin my new increased water intake journey.
Expectations: My expected outcomes for drinking more water was to boost my immune system, give me more energy and to have clearer skin. Here’s how things turned out:
Week One:
Carrying 3 liters everyday to school was a nuisance. I had to make sure I sat on the isles for quicker access for my hourly bathroom runs. I would start the day off strong with continuous sips of water but lag off as the day went on and find myself with about a quarter left with bedtime around the corner. I really got tired of the taste of water by day 3. I took a picture a couple of days into my challenge so I could compare skin changes.
Week Two:
After the first week I figured out a time frame as to how far through my jug I should be during the day. At 5pm I should be at the halfway mark. I figured out it’s best to finish my water before 10pm, so that I won’t constantly have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. The weekends or days when I’m mostly in the house, were the hardest to reach my goal. I didn’t have the weight of 100 ounces to remind me to drink water when I’m in bed watching Netflix all day. I would often just chug as much as I could when chill days arrived. By the second week, I felt pretty adjusted to drinking 3 liters daily.
Week Three:
I wondered how I ever went without drinking this amount of water. I really carried my jug everywhere I went and loved that I had made it apart of my lifestyle.
Week Four:
Drinking 3 liters is just the way I go about life at this point. I have to pee about every other hour but I just got used to that. I have to try harder on the inactive days but I still managed to get through the amount. There were a few days where I had about 16 ounces left by the end of the night but it would be too late to drink that amount without throwing off my sleeping schedule with several trips of the bathroom. I would end up drinking that amount in the morning and continuing with 3 liters for the day.

Energy

I didn’t really feel a change in the amount of energy I had. I think the seasonal change and my lack of vitamin D also has something to do with that. I expected drinking more water to really make me feel a lot more awake but when it gets dark at 4pm it’s like my body can’t help but feel like going back to bed lol.

Reality on Skin, Energy, and Immune System

Skin

Prior to drinking 3 liters a day, my average intake was about 64 ounces. I was always adamant about drinking water and had a healthy intake before. Drinking 64 ounces is what is considered the amount a person should drink each day. I have normal skin with few breakouts so going from 64 ounces to 100 ounces didn’t drastically improve my skin’s appearance. I think drinking more than 64 ounces is like the point of diminishing returns. Drinking 200 ounces probably wouldn’t do anything more than drinking 64 ounces did. So i didn’t see any changes with my skin over these past few months. My skin behaved like it normally would, super clear some days and a few pimples here and there. There’s obvious lighting differences between the photo on the left and right. One was taken in late September and the next in October.
 

Immune System/Overall Health

The main pros come in at my overall health and immune system.Every year I get a cold almost every other month. It’s particularly harsh during the fall season and especially when I have a demanding school schedule usually near midterms and finals. It was always annoying to have to battle a cold and find the energy to study when all I wanted to do was lay in bed and get better. Drinking 3 liters of water has helped me stay healthy even during the weeks of having multiple interviews in a week and a midterm week when I had 2 exams on one day. I felt intense stress and pressure during trying to prepare for 2 final interviews and 3 exams that fell in the same week but I was able to avoid getting sick.
I’ve also noticed that I rarely have headaches. I always had to reach for Tylenol or advil probably at least once a week but I’ve noticed I’ve probably only had a headache 1-2 times in the past months. A boost in immune system and preventing headaches were listed in the benefits of drinking 3 liters of water in the article I read by Health Fitness Revolution. It was found that

“drinking water ensures that your blood will carry plenty of oxygen throughout the cells in your body. Your immune system uses something called lymph to carry water and nutrients to your blood cells.”

My body was far from dehydrated which decreased my chance of getting headaches. I think extra intake of water added an extra shield to my immune system that otherwise had been easily shaken during stressful demands of school and life.
I plan on continuing drinking 3 liters a day in the future. The immune system results alone are enough to keep me going. I’ll probably have some fun with purchasing new water jugs and there are an assortment of colors on amazon. I’ll include the link below.
Have you ever tried a water intake challenge?